I would say to plant it at the same time you plant that beautiful Gold Medal. But I'm not sure you'd want to plant all the green leaf below the soil level so I don't know what to say. It looks like you only have about 6 to 8 inches of cane there and all the new growth is at the very bottom. You may want to keep it potted for a while until you get more top growth. However, in your zone you also want to get it established in the ground as soon as possible because your season is short. It's a good question! I hope maybe someone else will have a better idea.

Your zone (defined by the average lowest temps for the last 10 yesrs or so) does not matter. Your prevailing temps at this time and the expected temps for about a month after planting matter. Someone familiar with your local climate should be able to help. Also be wary of the seller's location because this would determine temp conditions while the roses are in transit. Also the ability to copiously water the plants (either naturally or through supplemental watering) for about 2 months after planting is an important consideration. I have received and successfully planted bare roots when max day temps where about 68-70F. Nik

I've taken an interest in learning about Florida gardening because I plan to move down there eventually. What I've read again and again about discouraging nematodes is to maintain a heavy layer of organic mulch. This will eventually break down and improve your soil. Some people mix in cheap clay kitty litter to make their soil heavier. Another possibility is to heavily underplant roses with Marigolds. There is one seed strain of French Marigolds in particular which tested as being very effective at deterring root-knot nematodes -- Tagetes patula 'Ground Control' (aka 'Single Gold'). The one caveat is that the effects won't be seen until the following year, and to maintain the effect, you'll want to replant them every year. As far as planting too deep -- I think many here would say I am guilty of this, but there hasn't been any negative effect which I can see. When I was putting this garden together, I planted my roses (own-root bands that were grown-on in pots for a few months) directly into the native soil in late Summer 2013. Prior to planting them, I had laid down sheets of cardboard to smother weeds and grass, and covered that with trimmings from a tree I was cutting back. This accumulated to about three inches, but it was a very "airy" three inches. Over all that, I put down an additional 6-8" of "proper" mulch (partially composted shredded wood chips). At first, I made concave "dishes" around each rose to allow water to be directed towards their roots and keep mulch away from the canes as I kept reading I was supposed to do, but after the first Winter, the beds were pretty much leveled out. In Spring, I worked an additional 2" of composted manure into that layer of mulch. This meant that what was once the border between canes and roots was now about 8-10" below the surface. Why did I do this? I wanted to give the roses an "early start" on having deep roots for getting water, and anticipated that canes buried beneath the mulch line would eventually root further up, allowing for easier access to fertilizer applied at the surface. Companion perennials were planted directly into this "mulch/compost" layer in Spring 2014, and they grew like gangbusters in their first year. Last Autumn, I wanted to continue adding organic matter to the beds, so I "harvested" fallen tree leaves and spread them to a "fluffy" three inches thick. I also started collecting used coffee grounds from Starbucks -- one 13gal kitchen garbage can-full per day -- and spread this about 2-3" over the leaves. It took about three months to complete. Winter snow has packed this down a bit, and the previous year's additions have started breaking down, so where I'm at now is about where I was after the first layer of mulch -- about 6-8" above the original soil line. This week, I started some early pruning. While there is some snow still remaining in half of the garden, where it is gone there was already life in the top layer of coffee grounds and leaves -- various soil critters are waking up and finding lots of food waiting for them. I've noticed some freeze damage (naturally) on some rose canes, but nothing soft and mushy which would indicate "cane rot". True, this could emerge later in the season, but I also never saw it last Spring when the roses' canes were also buried to about the same level. Why is this not harming my roses? Perhaps because what's covering the canes is actively being broken down by the various organisms in the soil, and that process is different than simply being a blanket of "wet" around the rose canes. Worms and critters keep moving the material around, and fungi digesting the material are sopping up the extra moisture. I don't know for sure -- all I can say is that I don't see any negative effects. :-) ~Christopher

Thank you, Stephanie, for the tip of Garden Tutor Soil pH Test kit strips. I find that soil pH test via a solution (red-cabbage juice) is more accurate since it takes at least 1/2 hour for the minerals in soil to dissolve in water. I tested soaking coffee ground in red-cabbage juice, at first it was acidic (pinkish), but after 1/2 hour soak, the solution became clear, coffee ground is known as a buffer. Same with rose park nearby, they scattered a layer of gypsum on top of their clay. I scoop up 1 heaping Tablespoon of their soil and tested in red cabbage juice. At first the solution turned pinkish (acidic), from the 18% of sulfur dissolved first. After 1 hour, the solution became very blue (alkaline), from the calcium of gypsum being slowest to dissolve, plus the alkaline minerals in soil was slow to dissolve. SARENA: for the reason above, it's best to mix gypsum 1 month in advance into soil, and let rain or a few waterings release its acidic sulfur to dissolve minerals in soil (rather than to corrode roots). Since you are in a high-rain climate, it's good to have solid minerals on top to buffer acidic rain, such as a thick layer of Worm Casting (pH 7.4), or your clay (if alkaline like mine at pH 7.7). Vermiculite is to improve moisture and to hold nutrients, plus to make potting soil fluffy for wimpy own-roots. Perlite has zero nutrients but good to MIX-IN so roots can have more oxygen for growth. Own-root roses like moist but airy soil. Both vermiculite and perlite is best mixed into potting soil. One rooting method recommended by University of CA at Davis is to mix 1/2 vermiculite (for moisture & cation exchange) plus 1/2 perlite (for aeration).